India, China set to sign border pact, no deal on visas

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being received by Chinese Vice Forgien Minister Zhai Jun on his arrival at Beijing International Airport in China on Tuesday.India and China appear all set to sign a landmark agreement on border cooperation to avoid army face-offs like in Depsang valley in Ladakh recently but plans for putting in place a liberalised visa regime look elusive.

In an exclusive interview with Headlines Today, India's ambassador to China S Jaishankar told that an agreement for liberalising visas for the Chinese is unlikely to be signed by the two countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived here to a warm reception on his three-day visit, will meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang tomorrow after which the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) will be signed.

This assumes significance in the context of the Depsang valley episode in Ladakh earlier this year when People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops made an intrusion and stayed put for three weeks.

Giving indications that decks have been cleared for signing of BDCA, sources said, "Don't ask about the outcomes now. We will give you details tomorrow (Wednesday)."

The BDCA was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security last week as part of further confidence building measures to avoid incidents along the Line of Actual Control which has seen many intrusions from the Chinese side.

The BDCA also provides for setting up of a hotline between the DGMOs of the two countries on the lines of the mechanism India has with Pakistan.

The deal is expected to be cleared after talks between Singh and Li, who will host a lunch for the Prime Minister.

This is the second meeting between the two leaders in five months after the Chinese Premier visited India in May.

Tomorrow, President Xi Jinping will also host a banquet dinner for Singh, signifying the importance attached to the Indian leader's visit.

On his arrival, the Prime Minister said he was looking forward to promoting further cooperation between India and China and between the Chinese leadership and himself.

"I am very happy to be in China. China is is our great neighbour. We have centuries-old relationship. We have lots of things to discuss," Singh told reporters.

The Prime Minister was received by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Aun.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being received by Ambassador S Jaishankar on his arrival at Beijing International Airport in China on TuesdayOn the border incidents, the sources acknowledged such episodes will continue to take place because of the difference in perceptions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The LAC is actually the most peaceful border, they said.

"The last person to die was in 1978. It is not a hot border. Nothing has changed on the ground. Peace and tranquillity has been maintained and we will keep working on it as each of us develop our capability and we build our infrastructure on the border," the sources said.

"Naturally it is important to find a new equilibrium at each stage," they said.

Depsang, the sources said, was the most successful instance of both sides managing to handle an incident that occurred.

"We restored the status quo. It is what we are supposed to do under the 1993 agreement. We did it quickly and fairly within three weeks.

"Look at the difference between Depsang where we did it in three (weeks) with minimum fuss and look at how Wang Dong was handled. It took 1996 and 1993. This was done smoothly because we have the mechanisms in place," the sources said.

Asked whether there can be a guarantee that there will be no border incidents in future, the sources said there will be face-offs because of the difference in perception on the LAC and that will be dealt with.

On the now-stuck liberalised visa regime, the sources said they were still working on it. "We were close to an agreement when they (the Chinese) did the stapled visa.

"We said we will do it slowly. We will see. We will end up doing some day," the sources said, indicating that the setback is only temporary to give an adequate message to China that India does not like the Chinese method of issuing stapled visas to people from Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing claims is its part.

The sources said even the Indian industry people want liberal visas but there was grave confusion on both sides over it.

From 1950s till 1990s and even later, the Chinese did not issue stapled visas. Now it has become a big issue, they said.

Even India used to tell its citizens to take stapled visas to Israel and South Africa when there was no diplomatic relationship with these countries, the sources said.

"What we are now saying why should someone from Arunachal Pradesh be treated separately. If you want to give stapled visas then give it to all Indians, then it is a different issue. People of Arunachal Pradesh cannot be treated differently. That is what we object. It is a silly thing to do. It is a big brother attitude," the sources said, adding much fuss was also being made over it.

There was a big confusion in the way the issue was handled, the sources said.

On the economic front, they said, India was having an economic dialogue with China and a CEOs forum will have a meeting on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings.

India, the sources said, has sought market access in China in the fields of IT, pharmaceuticals and some other areas. Chinese firms want to manufacture goods in India.

They are looking at special economic zones and a government delegation was recently in India to discuss locations, the sources said.